A scholar or expert who studies the life, works, and literary influence of Miguel de Cervantes.
From Cervantes plus the suffix -ist, meaning 'one who studies or practices.' This term became common in academia as Cervantes' importance to literature grew, especially from the 19th century onward.
Cervantists are basically detectives of literary genius—they spend careers analyzing how one Spanish author's jokes about knight stories ended up revolutionizing what novels could be and how they could work.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.